/    I 


United  States -Department)  oi 


Issued  November  8, 1909. 

Agriculture, 


OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS-CJrcular  47  (Rev.) 


A.G^§^%ector. 


THE  CARD  INDEX  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATION  LITERATURE. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  circular  to  outline  briefly  the  general  plan 
of  the  subject  index  of  experiment  station  literature  regularly  issued 
in  card  form  by  this  Office,  and  to  state  the  conditions  governing  the 
distribution  and  sale  of  the  index. 

The  index  at  the  present  time  covers  only  the  publications  of  the 
agricultural  experiment  stations  in  the  United  States,  Alaska.,  Hawaii, 
and  Porto  Rico.  Of  these  publications  the  index  includes  all  legular, 
special,  technical,  and  research  bulletins  and  the  reports,  but  not  such 
publications  as  circulars  and  press  bulletins,  except  as  these  are  reprinted 
in  the  other  publications  mentioned.  Publications  of  this  Department 
and  of  State  boards  or  departments  of  agriculture  are  therefore  not 
included.  The  index  begins  with  the  publications  of  the  stations  for 
the  year  1888,  and  is  kept  as  nearly  up  to  date  as  is  practicable. 

The  index  comprises  thirteen  primary  divisions,  as  follows:  (1) 
General  sciences^  2)  air  and  water,  (3)  soils,  (4)  fertilizers,  (5)  plants, 
(6)  foods,  (7Vanimals,  (8)  entomology,  (9)  dairying,  (10)  technology, 
(11)  agricultural  engineering,  (12)  statistics,  and  (13)  miscellaneous. 
These  subjects  have  been  divided  and  subdivided  only  so  far  as  seemed 
necessary  to  facilitate  reference  to  the  individual  entries  of  the  index. 
Lndpjr  general  sciences  are  placed  only  such  entries  as  relate  to  the 
gjfteral  principles  of  the  various  sciences  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of 
'experimental  investigations  in  agriculture.  Under  statistics  are  in- 
cluded the  entries  relating  to  the  organization,  equipment,  and  general 
operations  of  the  stations.  The  other  primary  divisions  provide  for  the 
articles  relating  more  directly  to  the  agricultural  and  economic  investi- 
gations. The  plan  of  the  index  permits  the  addition  of  reference  to  any 
literature  relating  to  agriculture,  and  also  affords  a  wide  opportunity 
for  the  extension  of  the  index  by  individual  students  for  their  own 
special  purposes. 

Each  of  the  divisions,  as  a  rule,  contains  entries  for  all  the  important 
articles  on  the  subject.  In  some  cases,  however,  an  article,  especially 
of  a  popular  nature,  may  deal  with  several  subjects  and  be  indexed 
only  under  the  most  important  phase  of  the  work.  As  an  illustration 
of  this  point,  an  article  dealing  with  the  use  of  fertilizers  for  field  crops 
on  certain  soils  may  appear  under  only  one  of  the  headings — Fertilizers, 
Field  Crops,  or  Soils.  This  has  been  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the 
number  of  cards  within  reasonable  limits.  Where  the  index,  however, 
is  used  in  its  entirety,  as  planned,  cross  references  lessen  the  difficulty 
from  this  source. 


inn 

3  1262  09216  3020 

The  divisions  and  subdivisions  are  arranged  on  a  decimal  system  and 
are  plainly  indicated  by  the  use  of  division  cards  of  different  colors. 

The  index  is  printed  on  cards  2  by  5  inches  in  size.  Each  index  card 
contains  an  appropriate  title,  the  author  of  the  article,  a  reference  to 
the  publication  in  which  it  appeared  and  to  the  Experiment  Station 
Record  in  which  an  abstract  of  the  article  may  be  found,  and  a  con- 
densed statement  of  its  contents.  At  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the 
card  is  a  number  indicating  under  what  heading  the  card  should  be 
placed  in  the  index.  The  order  in  which  the  cards  are  printed  is  indi- 
cated at  the  lower  left-hand  corner.  It  is  designed  that  the  cards  should 
be  arranged  in  alphabetical  and  chronological  order  under  the  final  sub- 
divisions of  the  index. 

One  cpy  of  the  index  is  sent  without  charge  to  each  of  the  agricul- 
tural colleges  and  experiment  stations  and  to  several  of  the  State 
boards  and  commissions  of  agriculture. 

Besides  this  free  distribution,  the  Office  is  prepared,  under  authority 
of  the  law,  to  furnish  a  limited  number  of  complete  sets  of  the  index  at 
the  price  of  $2  per  thousand  cards.  For  the  division  cards  an  additional 
charge  of  $1.25  is  made.  Sets  of  division  cards  a£jd  30,200  index  cards, 
bringing  the  index  up,  approximately,  to  September  1,  1909,  are  avail- 
able, and  one  of  these  sets  will  be  sent  to  any  address  upon  receipt  of 
$61.65.  Subscribers  are  also  informed  when  each  successive  lot  of  1,000 
cards  is  ready  for  distribution.  About  1,000  cards  are  required  for  the 
station  publications  issued  each  year.  Only  270  copies  of  the\index  are 
printed.  \ 

On  account  of  the  increasing  demand  for  separate  divisions  o>(  the 
index,  arrangements  have  been  made  for  reprinting  certain  divisions'  °r 
parts  of  divisions.  This  Office  is  therefore  prepared  to  furnish  a  linr- 
ited  number  of  divisions  of  the  index  at  a  price  only  sufficient  to  cover 
additional  cost  of  printing.  Beginning  January  1,  1910,  the  price  will 
be  increased  to  $3  per  thousand,  with  a  small  additional  charge  for  the 
colored  division  cards. 

A  key  to  the  index,  containing  the  system  of  classification,  is  sent 
on  application. 

Payments  should  be  made  in  advance  by  United  States  money  order 
in  favor  of  A.  Zappone,  Disbursing  Officer,  but,  like  all  other  'com- 
munications relating  to  the  index,  should  be  forwarded  in  envelopes 
addressed  to  the  Director  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

A.  C.  True, 

Approved :  Director. 

James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  D.  C,  November  1,  1909. 

O 


